1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to crystalline structures of aluminum oxide and particularly to producing magnetic heads at low ambient temperatures that comprise a crystalline alumina layer for increasing the reliability of the heads.
2. Background Information
Some devices, such as some magnetic tape heads, incorporate thin aluminum oxide films and layers to provide enhanced hardness and increase the durability of the head. It is known that thin aluminum oxide, also commonly referred to as alumina, or by its chemical formula Al2O3, provides a higher hardness and enhanced durability compared to conventional sputtered films. However, such magnetic heads may require low temperature processes for fabricating the head to prevent damage to the devices of the head, such as read transducers and write transducers.
It is generally accepted that only amorphous Al2O3 can be formed at low temperatures, such as ambient or room temperature, using conventional means, such as physical vapor deposition (PVD) or ion beam sputter deposition (IBSD) among other known means.
Known methods used for producing hard alumina generally require temperatures that exceed normal head processing temperatures. Thus, producing hard alumina films and layers in a magnetic head using known methods could damage the devices of the head, such as read transducers and write transducers. There are no known means for producing hard alumina films at temperatures acceptable for magnetic head processing, where the maximum temperature can be as low as about 60° C. to about 70° C.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to the manufacture of magnetic heads to have an aluminum oxide film and/or layer which could be processed at lower temperatures consistent with the requirements of modern magnetic heads and that would provide a head with enhanced hardness, improved corrosion resistance, and increased reliability.